Therapeutic bandage



J. W- KIRKLAND THERAPEUTIC BANDAGE Sept. 22, 1970" Filed Got. 27, 1967 Mmm JIM W. KlRkLM p United States Patent 3,529,601 THERAPEUTIC BANDAGEJim W. Kirkland, 38 Rue de la Tour, Paris XVI, France Filed Oct. 27,1967, Ser. No. 679,296 Claims priority, application France, Oct. 29,1966,

8 07 Int. Cl. A61f 13/00; A61h 36/00 US. Cl. 128-293 3 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to an air-tight and elastic therapeutic bandageapplied to naked parts of the human body to obtain a slimmer silhouettethereof. The bandage consists of an assembly of elastic bands woundabout the part of the body to be treated so as to provide perspirationwithout permitting the same to evaporate, the result ant increase intemperature causing a reduction in weight.

It is the primary object of this invention to eliminate thedisadvantages and inconveniences of conventional devices for causingperspiration and resultant weight reduction.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide such a devicewhich may be readily adapted and used for various size bodies, whichwill apply a uniform pressure upon the entire part of the body coveredby the de vice, and which is air-tight when applied.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a device whichmay be used to condition a predetermined part of the body or limbs so asto reduce only such predetermined parts in dimensions, the appliedbandage increasing body temperature and thus causing reduction of fat inthe covered zones of the body, the air-tight nature of the bandagepreventing evaporation of the ensuing perspiration which may beaugmented by body movements while the bandage is in place.

The above and other objects and advantages are accomplished inaccordance with the present invention with an air-tight and elastictherapeutic bandage which comprises three cooperating and complementarybandaging means. The first bandaging means is an integral elongatedbandaging member applied over the entire surface of a naked part of thehuman body to be covered by the bandage. The bandaging member consistsof a plurality of helical windings wound under uniform tension about thesurface. The second bandaging means is a terminal fastening means forthe bandaging member, which holds the bandaging member immobilized inposition. The third bandaging means is a strapping applied over thezones of the bandaging member where the helical windings thereofoverlap. This strapping applies additional pressure to correspondingzones of the covered body part, preventing air from reaching the coveredbody part in these zones.

Patented Sept. 22, 1970 According to one aspect of this invention, sucha bandage is applied by first winding the bandaging member helicallyabout the naked part of the body, with a first winding being started atthe level of the hips and a last winding being horizontally positionedat the level just below the arm-pits, while tensioning the elasticbandaging member during winding to apply a uniform radial pressureagainst the surface of the covered part of the human body. One end of afastening band is then applied to the fastening means of the lastwinding of the bandaging member, the fastening band is wound about thechest, and its other end is also fastened. Finally, a plurality ofstrapping bands are placed over selected zones of the covered part ofthe body to exert a radial pressure upon the helically wound bandagingmember and to prevent displacement of its helical windings. Thestrapping bands are so placed as to prevent air from penetrating betweenthe helical windings of the bandaging member and humidity fromevaporating whereby cooling of the covered part of the body iseliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING The above and other objects, advantages andfeatures of the present invention will become more apparent in thefollowing detailed description of a now preferred embodiment, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a female body to which the therapeutic bandageof this invention has been applied;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the outer face of the elongated bandagingmember;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inner face of the fastening band for oneend of the bandaging member;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the outer face of a strapping band; and

FIG. 5 is a plane view of the outer face of an additional bandagingmember designed to cover portions of the limbs of the human body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawing and first to FIG. 1,there is shown a naked female body whose hips, waist and torso up to thearm-pits have been covered by the bandage of the invention, one of thelegs and one of the arms having applied thereto additional bandagingmembers in accordance with one aspect of this invention. As shown, thebandage comprises a helically wound bandaging member A covering thenaked body, a fastening means B holding the bandaging member Aimmobilized in position, and a strapping over the bandaging member, theillustrated strapping consisting of three strapping bands C1, C2 and C3.

In the illustrated embodiment, the bandaging member is a band of elasticmaterial impermeable to air and of a sufficient length to permit it tocover the hips, abdomen and torso up to the arm-pits when applied inhelical windings, and the terminal fastening means is arranged at oneend of the band. As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the elastic band is freewhile the other end carries the male part 1 of a conventional fastener.

When applying this elastic band to cover the entire surface of the hips,waist and torso up to the arm-pits, the free end of the band is placedon the hips to start the first winding about the hips and helicallyupwards about the waist and then the chest, with the helical windingsoverlapping each other, and the last winding being horizontallypositioned at the level just below the armpits. While the elastic bandis helically wound about the body, it is tensioned longitudinally to apredetermined extent, thus applying a uniform radial pressure againstthe surface of the covered part of the naked body.

A useful fastening band is illustrated in FIG. 3. It is an elastic bandcarrying fastening means 3, 3 and 4, 4 at each end thereof. At one end,there is also arranged a female part 2 of a conventional fastener forengagement with male part 1 of the fastener, which is arranged at one ofthe bandaging member ends.

The fastening band is of sufficient length to extend about the chest andis disposed horizontally at the level of the last winding of bandagingmember A. It is attached to the bandaging member end by engagingfastener parts 1 and 2, and is held in position about the chest byengagement of its fastening means 3, 4.

In the illustrated embodiment, the strapping is shown to consist ofthree strapping bands, each having the configuration shown in FIG. 4.The selected zones are preferably the hips, the waist and the lower partof the chest, below where the fastening band is arranged. In theselected zones, the strapping bands exert a radial pressure upon thehelically wound bandaging member underlying them and thus preventdisplacement of the helical windings. Also, they provide an additionalair-tight covering against the pentration of air to the skin andcorresponding evaporation of perspiration therefrom.

It will be obvious from a consideration of FIG. 1 showing the appliedbandage that the impermeable, elastic bands will be able to moveslightly in relation to each other without being moved out of place whenthe person to whom it is applied moves around, for instance to docalisthenics.

In the illustrated embodiment, the person also carries a helically woundelastic band D on one thigh and a similar band B on one arm. Usefulelastic bands for this purpose are shown in FIG. and they are appliedlike leggings about the selected part of the limbs, with one end of theband carrying an adjustable lash 7 for holding the band in place.

It is desirable to make all bands of the bandage of the same elasticmaterial impermeable to air although they may be of different widths, asshown in FIGS. 2-5. Useful elastic materials include sulfur-free rubber,i.e. pure rubber, or elasticized textile fabrics with triboelectricproperties.

While dimensions of the bands may vary widely, depending primarily onthe sizes of the bodies to which they are to be applied, an elastic bandhaving a length of 370 cm. and a width of cm. has been found useful forapplication to most adult bodies to cover them from hips to arm-pits. Asshown in FIG. 2, the one end of the band is slightly tapered and carriesthe male part 1 of a hook fastener sold under the trademark Velcros 50."Any suitable fastening means will do, of course.

The elastic fastening band used in practice has a width of 15 cm. and alength of 100 cm. It carries at one end the female part 2 of the hookfastener and, along the longitudinal edges of the band at its respectiveends, the longitudinally extending male fastener parts 4, 4 and femalefastener parts 3, 3 which, upon engagement, hold the fastening band inposition about the chest, while its one end is hooked to the one end ofthe bandaging member by means of fastener 1, 2.

Each strapping band has a width of 10 cm. and a length of 120 cm. in apractical embodiment. One end of each strapping band carries a malefastening part 5 while the other end thereof carries a female fasteningpart 6 which, when engaged, hold the strapping band in position aboutthe selected zone of the body.

The additional bandaging member shown in FIG. 5 may be applied to anydesired part of the body and, depending on its intended use, may have awidth of 10 cm. and a length of 130 cm. It carries a lash 7 of a lengthof 55 cm. at one end, one side of the lash being constituted'by a malefastener part and the other lash side being constituted by a femalefastener part so that the lash will hold the bandaging member inposition when the male and female fastener parts of lash 7 are engaged,i.e. superposed.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in connectionwith a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that manyvariations and modifications will occur to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of applying an air-tight and elastic band- 0 age to thehuman body, comprising the steps of (1) winding an elastic bandagingmember helically about a naked part of the human body to cover theentire surface thereof,

(a) a first winding being started at the level of the hips and a lastwinding being horizontally positioned at the level just below thearm-pits and carrying a fastening means, and

(b) the elastic bandaging member being tensioned during winding to applya uniform radial pressure against the surface of the covered part of thehuman body;

(2) applying one end of a fastening band to the fastening means of thelast winding of the bandaging member, winding the fastening band aboutthe chest, and fastening its other end; and

(3) placing a plurality of strapping bands over selected zones of thecovered part of the human body to exert a radial pressure upon thehelically wound bandaging member and to prevent displacement of thehelical windings thereof,

(c) the strapping bands being so placed as to prevent air frompenetrating between the helical windings of the bandaging member andhumidity from evaporating whereby cooling of the covered part of thehuman body is eliminated.

2. An air-tight and elastic therapeutic bandage for application to thehuman body, comprising three cooperating and complementary bandagingmeans, a first one of said bandaging means being an integral elongated,helically wound band of elastic material impermeable to air and of alength sufiicient to permit it to cover the hips, abdomen and torso upto the arm-pits of a human body when applied in helical windingsthereabout, and terminal fastening means being arranged at one end ofsaid band, a second one of said bandaging means being a like elasticband impermeable to air and being of sulficient length to extend aboutthe chest of the human body, said latter band carrying fastening meansat each end thereof, the latter fastening means including two malefastening elements extending along the edges of the band at one side andat one end thereof and the female fastening elements extending along theedges of the band at the reverse side and at the other end thereof, themale and female fastening elements cooperating to fasten the band, andone of said ends also carrying a transversely extending fasteningelement for fastening cooperation with the terminal fastening means ofthe first band; and a third one of the bandaging means being a strappingof a like elastic band impermeable to air applied over the zones of thefirst bandage where the helical windings thereof overlap, the strappingband carrying elongated fastening elements at respective ends and onopposite sides thereof for cooperation to fasten the ends of thestrapping band together.

3. The bandage of claim 2, wherein the first elastic band has a lengthof 370 cm. and a width of 20 cm., the second elastic band has a lengthof cm. and a width of 15 cm., and the third elastic band has a length ofcm. and a width of 10 cm.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited 3,298,366 1/1967Moore et a1. 128-169 XR UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,310,052 3/1967 Ward128-293 4/1937 Abrams et a1. 128--156 9 4 6 8/ 9 8 Gongwer XR 11/1950Corbett 128156 5 ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner 9/1953 Freiberger128170 P E PI 4/1956 schon 128 156 .SHA R0, Ass1stantExam1ner 6/1965Kelson. U.S. Cl. X.R.

6/1966 Smithers 128-156 XR 171

